


Walk As Lions

by averagegirl07



Series: Dr. Reid and Dr. Moore [2]
Category: Criminal Minds, Original Work
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 22:21:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11322897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/averagegirl07/pseuds/averagegirl07





	Walk As Lions

A Criminal Minds Fic

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Aaron Hotchner’s phone buzzed, a call coming in from the office. He groaned and rolled over, not wanting to answer it. After all, it was supposed to be his day off. It went off again and a few other messages came through as well. This was urgent so he picked up the phone. 

“Hotchner,” he answered. He listened for a few seconds. As he did, he was up getting dressed and texting his sister-in-law to come watch Jack. “I'll be there soon.” He hung up and headed to his son’s room. When he opened the door, Jack was already up playing a video game in the living room. 

“Go get the bad guys, dad. I'll be ok,” Jack told him, still focused on his game. 

“I called Aunt Jessica to come over. I know you're old enough but it's just a precaution.” He saw the slight hurt on Jack's face. “I'm sorry buddy. I was looking forward to our day out.” Aaron walked over and gave him a hug. “Be good.”

“I will dad. Just come home safe.”

“I always do.” With that and seeing a smile on his son's face he walked out the door, go bag in hand.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Dr. Spencer Reid was sitting at his desk, a chess game setting out. He was in the middle of a game when SSA Agent David Rossi came up behind him. 

“Still thinking of a move?” he asked, leaning against the desk next to his. 

“What?” Reid asked, snapping out of his train of thought. 

“You've been staring at that game for at least five minutes. You're usually done in that time.”

“Oh. I'm just thinking…about…something.” 

“Ah. Something or someone?” Rossi asked with grin on his face. 

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Reid got on with his game, trying to convince Rossi he was fine. 

Rossi saw some color creep up into his cheeks. “Whatever you say kid.”

“Morning everyone,” JJ said as she walked in. Penelope Garcia walked in behind her with Derek Morgan and Aaron on their heels. “Let's get started.” Reid and Rossi followed everyone into the conference room. 

“Ok. So get ready for some pretty icky things.” Garcia pulled up several images on the big screen while everyone pulled them up along with the profile on their tablets. “Four days ago, the bodies of two women and two men were found in the woods behind a church in Birmingham, AL. The pastor of the church was the one who discovered them while helping some volunteers install plumbing for the neighborhood.” Everyone studied the images on the screen. 

“Looks like the unsub used a blunt object to kill the victims,” JJ said, studying one of the male victims. “That's the only thing I see.”

“Oh yes.” Garcia pulled up another photo. “The police down there noticed there was something strange, but they couldn't figure it out. They've requested our help because each of these victims went missing sometime two weeks ago and they want to stop the craziness.” 

“The M.E. down there can't find anything?” Reid asked, a little confused. 

“Not that they can find. They've called in a specialist,” JJ told him. Reid swallowed and quickly turned back to the case. 

“We should get going,” Hotch said. “It's a three hour flight and they think the person may strike again.”

Everyone closed their folders and got up to leave, except Reid. His stomach was filling with butterflies. Could he get to see the forensic anthropologist from the case in Las Vegas? If so, what should he say? He got up, grabbed his bag and tried to hide the redness in his cheeks as he walked past the team. 

“What's his problem?” Morgan asked as Reid passed. 

“Oh...just something on his mind,” Rossi said with a smile. Morgan gave him a strange look but shook his head. 

“Guys! Wheels up in five minutes!” Hotch hollered. 

“You'll get it when we get there,” Rossi said as he and Morgan headed for the plan. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Read by Spencer Reid) "Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see." Hebrews 11:1

Dr. Ashley Moore stood over one of the four bodies, thankfully now under a canopy out of the sun. She reviewed the local ME’s report and made note that everything was correct then went to work. She turned the body on the side and found some strange substance. She swabbed it, stuck it in a bag, and moved on. One of the victim's arms was missing some flesh and one of the female victims was all bone, which was why she got called in. 

“What have we got so far, Doctor?” Chief Sinclair asked, kneeling down next to her. 

“I'm not sure, but it looks like they've been dead for some time,” Ashley responded, holding up the victim's arm to examine it more closely. “But I'd estimate time of death around at least a month ago.”

“Thanks. I’ll let the FBI know when they get here.” He rose to his feet and Dr. Moore rose with him. 

“I’ll know more when we get them back to the morgue,” Ashley said taking her gloves off. “Uh, sir? Do you know when the FBI will get here?”

“Anytime, I suppose. Why?”

Ashley let out a nervous laugh. “Just...Well..I'd like to tell them my findings.” Chief Sinclair just nodded and moved on. Dr. Moore felt like an idiot and wanted to go back in time and word all of that differently. She shook her head clear, and went to the table set up with all of the dirt collected, swabs of DNA and other foreign matters, and started putting them away. 

She was almost done when she heard someone say her name. Her heart skipped a beat or two and she waited another second to calm herself before she turned around. When she did, JJ and Rossi were standing there. 

“Hey!” Ashley said half heartedly, giving them each a hug. “How are you?”

“We’re good. How about you? We saw on the news you were in Oregon digging up some mummies,” Rossi asked, smiling. JJ looked curious too. 

“Yeah. It's been busy since Las Vegas. I'm still trying to help identify all those people,” Ashley laughed, still hoping a certain someone would appear out of nowhere. 

“I'm going to talk with Chief Sinclair,” JJ told Rossi as she headed in the chief's direction. 

Rossi could tell Dr. Moore was expecting someone else and knew who. “He's here. He's at the precinct with Agents Hotchner and Morgan.” When Ashley gave him a terrified look that said ‘How the hell do you know?!’ he told her. “The kid’s been a little distracted since we all first met you. I figured it out myself and when he kept looking back at you when we left Nevada, well, it was a little obvious.”

“You profilers don't miss much,” Dr. Moore stated, crossing her arms over her chest nervously. 

“No, we don't.” Rossi put his arm around her shoulders. “We’ll let you finish packing and I'm sure we'll meet up again later.” He noticed JJ on the phone and as she hung up, walked their way. 

“Hotch needs us back at the station,” JJ said as she walked right past Rossi and Dr. Moore. “And he wants Dr. Moore to come as well.” 

Ashley felt her eyes grow wide, but composed herself before anyone saw. She gathered her things, told the medical examiner where she was going and what all needed to go back with him, and got in the black SUV with Rossi and JJ.

All the way to the station, Dr. Moore was a nervous wreck. Her hands were shaking, she felt sweat dripping down her face, even though, it probably wasn’t. She worried about what her hair looked like, if she was covered in dirt - she had no idea it was so hard to be in a secret relationship with someone who probably did not feel the same way. She hadn’t realized they had gotten to the station until she barely heard JJ say her name.

“Dr. Moore. We’re here.” Ashley just looked through her. She was still in la la land. “Are you ok?” JJ asked, her voice cutting through Ashley’s mind. 

“What? I’m sorry. I must’ve zoned out,” Ashley said as she got out of the car, rubbing her eyes. When she looked up, Rossi was smiling at her. As she walked by him with a smirk on her face, she muttered, “Shut up.”

“Thank you for coming back so quickly. Sorry to pull you all away from the scene,” Hotch stated as the three of them walked into the conference room. Ashley was relieved to see the person she had been thinking about was not in the room and had a seat. “So, we got a call from the New Orleans police department and they believe the body they found is connected to the cases here in Birmingham.” 

“What are the similarities?” Ashley asked, her hand raised slightly in the air. 

“The body was discovered just a few hours ago, but the body was mostly bone. They’ve requested your assistance and I will send someone with you.” Aaron had put Garcia on speaker as they were speaking. “Go ahead, Garcia.”

“Hey crime fighters! First of all, welcome again, Dr. Moore. Missed you even though I have never seen you. And you’re giving me a look. Okay! So, I dug up what I could on your four victims there in Birmingham. The blonde’s name is Haley Williams with her husband, Tony Williams. The other couple are the Cooks, Sarah and AJ. They were both last seen outside their houses by their neighbors. The Cooks were dropping their children off at AJ’s mother’s house for the weekend and the Williams had just gotten home from the grocery store. What happened after that, no one knows but they definitely did not know each other.”

Ashley had gotten up to look at the map on the cork board. The two couples lived on the opposite sides of town yet somehow ended up in the same hole in the only church in Birmingham's back yard. “Garcia? They really had nothing in common? Not even the same diner downtown?”

“Uh, give me one second,” Garcia responded, typing away doing what she does best. “Nope. Nothing.”

“Strange,” Ashley muttered to herself. She continued to look at the map while Hotch continued.

“Alright thanks, Garcia. Keep us updated.”

“Yep! Hitcha back when I get anything new!” Garcia hung up.

“Ok. Well, Dr. Moore, Morgan and Reid will head to New Orleans while we work on the cases here…”

“What?!” Ashley choked on her water she had been drinking. Everyone turned towards her and all she could do was say, “Just kidding. That’s great.” Everyone but Rossi and Morgan got her shock and she could see the smirks on their faces. All she wanted to do was run and hide.

Aaron looked a bit confused, but caught Rossi’s eye and pretended to ignore it. “Alright, everyone. Let’s get going.”

The team got up and went on their way. Morgan waited with Ashley while Hotch and Rossi decided where they would start. Following everyone's lead, Ashley was the first one out the door only to suddenly come into contact with hot coffee.

Reid was so embarrassed his face grew red, Rossi and Morgan just smiled, and JJ, Hotch and Ashley were stunned. 

“Here, Ashley,” JJ said, hurriedly handing her napkins. “Reid!” JJ hollered at him. “You can help.”

Spencer just stood with the dripping coffee cups still in his hand, mouth wide open. He felt stupid and clumsy for being so careless and unobservant. “I’m so sorry,” he finally choked out. He put the cups down and helped JJ and Ashley clean her shirt. “I can’t believe I didn’t see you.”

“How can you? I’m only five feet tall,” Ashley laughed, dabbing her soaking wet, coffee flavored pants. “I mean, at least I’ll smell good.” She was trying to cheer him up, but he looked so horrified still nothing was working. JJ left to get more napkins and a change of clothes. While Spencer was cleaning up the mess on the floor, Ashley walked over. “See? No harm done. I'm fine.” Spencer glanced up and saw her smiling. It may have been an awkward smile, but Spencer did smile back, his heart fluttering a bit then began pounding in his ears. 

They sat there, eye to eye, with the napkins soaking up the coffee from the carpet. They hadn't noticed when JJ walked back in, silently dropped Ashley's clothes off on the table, and slipped out. They looked like the celebrity couple of the FBI to JJ. She smiled to herself as she walked out to the vehicle. 

Spencer's phone buzzed in his pocket, causing him to jump, breaking the stare that was held too long. Ashley looked over and saw her clothes on the edge of the table, wishing she could've stayed in the position forever. 

“Umm, I guess I'll meet you at the car in a few minutes,” she said as she looked back at him. He nodded and gathered up the soaking wet rags and threw them away. As he left, she followed, but made a pit stop at the restroom to change. 

Reid walked out into the bright sunlight of Alabama and towards Morgan, who was still wearing the ‘You like her’ smile. Reid walked right by him and got in the car without saying a word. 

“What's wrong pretty boy? Doc got your tongue?” Morgan asked playfully. 

“I don't even know what you're talking about, Morgan.”

“Whoa! Easy kid. Don't get so defensive. It's just Rossi and I who know. Don't worry.” Morgan put a hand on Reid's shoulder. “I know you don't want to have to deal with pain of losing her like Mave.” Spencer gave him the evil eye. No one has ever spoken of Mave since the last time Spencer brought her up. “Hey, Reid, I'm sorry for bringing that up.”

“Don't ever bring it back up,” Reid sadly said, tears about to spill over. He looked out the window, grateful to be wearing sunglasses when Dr. Moore walked out. If he had been crying, no one would ever know because the sight of Ashley made his day. Morgan noticed too, and gave Reid a friendly shove. 

Ashley came out of the station in a pair of jean shorts, slightly torn with a tank top that showed the smallest amount of her stomach and rainbow button up shirt that she had just tied in front. What made Reid's heart stop for a moment was when she put her aviators on and flipped her long blonde hair like they do in the movies --at least that's what Morgan was always saying. She may be short, but she was a heartbreaker who didn't know it. 

“So, are you two gonna stare all day or are we gonna go catch us an unsub?” she laughed, leaning in Reid's window. When they didn't answer because Morgan was smiling at Reid who's mouth was touching the ground, she took that as they were leaving then and hopped in the backseat with a big smile on her face. 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

While JJ went to the morgue, Rossi and Hotch headed back to the original crime scene. They were chatting about the case when Hotch brought up the coffee incident just moments before. 

“So Reid and Dr. Moore? How long have you known?” Hotch asked Rossi, his eyes still on the road. 

“Morgan and I figured it out before we left Las Vegas. Morgan could tell when he and Reid first met her. Morgan said he got all flustered and almost tripped over himself. Morgan was dying of laughter on the inside. He didn't want to embarrass Reid anymore than he's already done.” Rossi saw Hotch smile, a rarity never seen by many. 

“I'm glad, but I hope this doesn't backfire on him again.”

“Yeah,” Rossi quietly said, thus ending their conversation. “Is that why you sent them together to New Orleans with Morgan?”

Hotch laughed. “Kind of. I sent them together with Morgan because they may need to split up and I didn't want Dr. Moore by herself. If it comes to it, I think Reid would go with her absent mindedly to protect her.” Rossi joined in on the laughter as they pulled into the church parking lot. “Let’s see if the other CSU’s have found anything else.” They got out and headed around back.

“Hey there, agents!” the pastor said excitedly. He had been helping to sift dirt, looking for more clues. “It feels good to help find a killer, but, at the same time, I’ve been worrying about who it could be. I pray it’s not anyone in my congregation.”

They shook hands after Pastor Cory wiped his hands. “Have you found anything?” Rossi asked.

“I don’t think so. At least, no one has said anything to me,” Cory stated, looking around the now brown little courtyard of the church. His eyes showed sadness and longing, like he wanted it to be like it was before the bodies was found. “I’m sure they’re close.” Hotch and Rossi both agreed. “Are you two hungry? There’s a great little diner down the road.”

“We should really stay, but I think they have things covered,” Rossi slyly said as he turned around toward the car.

“I agree. Let’s go eat real quick. Maybe Reid, Morgan and Dr. Moore will have something soon.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stepping off the jet after just an hour flight, versus a five to six hour car ride, the sky was a bit different. It was partly cloudy, but the humidity level was the same - sticky. Ashley had put her hair up in a messy bun as she walked down the steps. Morgan came behind her, still sweating from the Alabama heat. He still didn't know how he and Reid were wearing pants. Reid was last as he told Morgan that he may trip over himself if he went after Ashley. 

“Kid, you're gonna have to face your fear sooner or later,” Morgan told him after they landed. 

“I know,” Reid said shyly, dropping his head. “I just don't know how to act around girls like you do. You saw my reaction when I ran into her! I looked like an idiot.”

“Reid, if you like her and she likes you, it won't matter how stupid you look. I've had my fair share of clumsy moments believe it or not. If she likes you, she won't care.”

Ashley stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking at New Orleans skyline. It was so beautiful with the sun showing through the clouds at just the right angle. She pulled out her phone, ready to take a picture of it when Morgan jumped in the way. 

“Derek Morgan!” she shouted, laughing. “You jerk!”

“Sorry girl. I had to,” he said. “Come on. Let's get one together.” He took her phone and drug Reid over next to him. He bent down so Ashley could jump on his back so she'd be in the picture and said, “Cheese!”

“Thanks Morgan,” Ashley smiled. “That's a keeper.” She showed it to Reid and Morgan, smiling wide. 

“Ok you guys. Let's go see what we have,” Reid yelled behind him as he headed to the SUV that awaited them. 

“We're coming kid. You just look so thrilled!” Morgan laughed, showing the photo to him again. Ashley laughed too, which made Reid feel warm inside. Why did she have such a huge effect on him? 

When they arrived at the crime scene, Ashley headed right for the body while Reid and Morgan went to talk with the officers. Ashley knelt down beside the body, gloving up when she noticed something slightly different from the other four in Alabama. While the others appeared to have not struggled as they were blitzed from behind, this body had defensive wounds of some kind. She wasn't positive as she would have to get it back to the morgue to be sure, but this was odd. She looked around the body for more clues and saw something sticking out of the dirt. It didn't glimmer or shine but it piqued her interest. When she pulled it out, she gasped and Reid was by her side in a second. She didn't feel the pain at first but it came on quick. 

“What is it?” he asked concerned. When Ashley pointed to the item, he grabbed a glove. “Morgan, we need to send this to Hotch and Garcia.” As Morgan took the picture, Reid placed a hand on Ashley's shoulder and said, “You've found the possible murder weapon.”

“What is it?” she asked with a shaker voice, taking a towel from a nearby officer and putting pressure on her bleeding hand. 

“I think it's a mace. It's from the medieval times and they were used to penetrate the armor of other knights. It was said that it could cause a lot of damage without penetrating the armor.” Morgan, Ashley and the other officers just looked confused. “It's actually really fascinating.”

Morgan looked at his phone. “Hotch wants us to figure out who this is and if they were the first or last one killed. Dr. Moore, will you assist the coroner here and see if you can't. find something?”

“Of course,” she said, getting to her feet. She would possibly need a few stitches in her hand but that wasn't going to stop her from finding the crazy person who did this. 

“Reid and I will ask around to see if anyone may know something.” After a few more orders and instruction, everyone parted ways, hoping for answers instead of more questions. 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Dr Moore was alone in the morgue performing the autopsy of the victim while the ME went to get some lunch. She had turned on her ipod for some background noise while she worked. She started out humming then she began singing to the victim even though she couldn't hear her. After a while of slicing and weighing internal organs, she began dancing as the coffee she had on the plane took over, practically screaming the lyrics of her favorite band, Skillet. 

“To the floor, to the floor hit red light. Flying high, flying high at the speed of light. We are young, we are strong, we will rise cause I’m back, back, back from the dead tonight!” she sang at the top of her lungs, awkwardly dancing around the table while expertly cutting out the liver. She came around the other side of the table and stopped in her tracks, her arms in the air with a scalpel in her hand. Her face went bright red of embarrassment as Spencer stood in the doorway. “Oh my gosh! I didn't even hear you walk in!” she stammered, putting the instrument down. 

Reid laughed. “Um, I just came down. Hotch called and wanted to know if you'd found anything.” He walked over to the table and examined the half mutilated body. The bag next to victim had the parts already taken out and the weights and measurements of what had been found so far. He tried to make eye contact but couldn't quite look her straight in the eye - yet. He cleared his throats but his voice cracked regardless. “So, you find anything?”

Ashley laughed at the high pitched question. “I'm not sure but it looks like it was blunt force trauma from the mace.” She led him to the head of the table and rolled the victim’s head to show the impression. “I took a photo and sent it to the lab here as well as to Garcia. I hope she doesn't hate me for it but i know she works faster than the lab geeks can.” She laughed at herself then continued. “Also, I found some trace on her thigh that I also sent to the lab.” She gave him the magnifying glass and pointed him to the trace. 

“Huh. Interesting,” Reid said to himself. When he went to straighten, he came face to face with her. They both backed away out of instinct and looked away. “Umm, ok. Well I’ll let Hotch know. Thanks!” Reid told her as he walked out. Ashley watched as he left and smiled. She was startled when he popped his head back in and said, “By the way, you have a good voice,” and left again. 

She walked back over to the body, smiling. “Thanks,” she said quietly and continued the autopsy with her head in the clouds. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Alright. Thanks Reid,” Hotch said as he hung up. “They found a murder weapon and Dr. Moore found defensive wounds.” He and Rossi had picked up JJ from the morgue in Alabama and were headed back to the station. 

“A mace. That's one we don't see everyday.” Rossi was amazed and fascinated by the news. “And I don't think there's many places to get one, at least not here.”

JJ already had Garcia on speaker. “Garcia, can you tell us if there are any places to get something like that?”

“Oh boy. There are a few places, surprisingly.” Garcia said on the other end. “Let's see...Oh! There's one close by called Harry's Fun Prop House. Sending the address now,” 

“Thanks Garcia.” JJ received the message a second later and told Hotch where to go. 

The store wasn't very busy, in fact there was no one there except the manager. The place smelled of old cigarettes and mold. The smell of stale beer hung in the air which had probably drifted in from the bar next door through the vents. When the bell rang signaling the unexpected visitors, Harry the manager came up from the back. 

“Hi there,” he said cheerfully. He was an average size man but a stout build. He was balding and had a higher pitched voice than any of them were expecting. “Welcome to Harry's Fun Prop House. Can I help you folks find something in particular?” 

“Do you sell anything like this?” Rossi asked, showing him the picture of the mace. 

Harry took the phone to get a closer look. “Where'd you find this? I've been looking for this mace for two weeks.”

“We found next to this girl.” Rossi showed him the picture of the victim from New Orleans. 

“Whoa dude! Is she dead?”

“Yes. Do you remember seeing the person who stole this object?” Hotch asked, looking for security cameras. 

“Um no. They must've swiped it when I wasn't looking. And sorry but I don't have any cameras.” 

“That's ok. We know a girl who can hack into anything from anywhere,” JJ spoke up. “Got Garcia looking into the cameras around the area.”

Hotch’s phone vibrated in his pocket. When he looked at it, Morgan had sent him a message. We got a suspect. “We need to go New Orleans.” Hotch turned and walked out the door, with Rossi and JJ right behind him. 

“Thanks for your help,” JJ said to Harry as she walked through the door. “Hotch, that's a five to six hour drive.”

“Then we better get going,” he ordered as they got in truck. He put it in gear and gravel flew as they sped away. 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

The person Reid and Morgan brought in was scary looking to Dr. Moore. He was built like a wrestler which surprised her when Morgan brought him down with a few other officers. He had scraggly black hair that had not been washed in weeks but he didn't smelled like it. He still wore decent clothes so he had to be living somewhere and he obviously worked out like there was no tomorrow. He was attractive but not her type. Reid stepped up beside her while Morgan walked past her into the interrogation room. The two of them had given the profile with the help of the locals and had confirmed it when Hotch called on his way. The defensive wounds on the victim they had identified were made by someone with large hands and a unique ring on his right hand. That ring matched the one their suspect was wearing. Reid and Ashley watched as Morgan another detective entered the room. 

“Man what am I doing here?” the suspect asked, looking too relaxed to be in custody. 

“You tell me, Jimmy,” Morgan told him. “We found a bruise on a dead girl that matches your ring!”

“Hey man! I don't know! I've never seen that girl in my life!”

“How about these people?” Morgan started laying out the pictures of the two couples in front of him. “Recognize these people?”

Jimmy smirked and thought Morgan wouldn't notice. Dr. Moore and Reid noticed the subtle movement of the laugh. 

“He knows them,” Reid stated. Ashley nodded in agreement. “But he doesn't know the girl.”

“How is that possible? We have an exact match of the ring,” Ashley asked. 

They heard Morgan ask something similar and turned back to the glass. 

“You know them?” Morgan demanded an answer. 

“Man, you are bossy!” Jimmy laughed. “Yeah I know them. They’re one of my friends parents. They were something else when I was younger.”

“Got a name?”

 

“Yeah. Danny. You can find him at the local bar on Main. We went to the same college together and played on the same soccer team. We won the championship in New Orleans and that night we got hammered. We bar hopped till at least 3am and Danny, he met some chick and they took off. I went back to the hotel because we had to be back at the bus by 9 to head back to school.”

“When was this?” Morgan asked.

“Man, I don’t know. It was maybe five years ago. But this, man...Danny was always daring but one time he went off the deep end. I haven’t seen him since then but read that he was in jail for a year due to assault.”

“Assault with a deadly weapon?”  
“I don’t know!”

“Yes you do!” Morgan yelled, causing Ashley on the other side of the glass to jump and instinctively grab Reid’s hand. Reid looked down but Ashley was still looking at the commotion of the interrogation. “Get him out of here,” Morgan told the officer. He walked out after Jimmy and almost missed the release of hands. “Hotch, Rossi and JJ should be here soon. We’ll go get Danny then but in the meantime, who’s up for a steak out?”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny sat in the chair across from Hotch, no look of guilt in his face or posture. His story matched everything Dr. Ashley Moore had confirmed and after showing Harry the picture, he confirmed that Danny was the guy who swiped the mace.

Danny told Hotch that the reason he killed the Cooks was because they were Jimmy’s adoptive parents and never let him have any fun when they were in college. When they found out he got drunk at the soccer championship, they banned him from alcohol and Jimmy was not allowed to see him again. After he had gone to jail, he said he thought of what he could do to get back at them. He said he had found the Williams as well coming back with the Cooks after a night of dining. He couldn’t leave any witnesses so he killed all of them. When Hotch asked him about the lone female victim in New Orleans, he said she was collateral damage. She told him no when he asked if she would come back to his hotel room.

“She put up one helluva fight,” Danny smirked. 

“What’s her name?” Hotch demanded.

“I think she said Stacy. Didn’t get a last name.”

Hotch looked toward glass and motioned to Dr. Moore. She turned to Reid and said, “I’ll see what I can figure out but I could use some help.” She gave him a sympathetic look. 

Reid nodded and told JJ to let Hotch know and they left. JJ turned back to the glass where the conversation had continued.

“Why the church? Why bury the two couples there?” Hotch asked out of curiosity. 

“It seemed like the best place. I noticed them going and coming every Sunday so I buried them both there and before you ask, I own a van which is how I transported them.”

Hotch leaned forward, quite impressed. “Well, you just made this one of my most easiest arrests.” He motioned for the officer to come in. “This officer will inform you of your rights.” With that said, Hotch, JJ, Morgan and Rossi watched as he was escorted to booking. “Where’s Reid and Dr. Moore?”

“They went to see if they could further identify the girl named Stacy so we can notify her parents. Hotch, she was only about 18,” JJ said, reaching for her phone. “We have a name and phone number. She was Stacy Monroe and she was from Montana but going to school in New Orleans. I’ll call her parents.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After calling Stacy’s parents, they made the trek from Montana to Alabama to identify her body. When they did, JJ informed them they can take the body back to Montana but that they should stay a few days to recover from the trip and shock. Pastor Cory invited them to stay for a brief ceremony and remembrance along with the Cooks and the Williams. 

“Thank you all for coming. We are gathered here today to remember the lives of five people who were taken from us far too soon,” Pastor Cory started. As he proceeded, Reid and Ashley snuck in. Ashley had gotten caught up in some late paperwork at the morgue and Reid stayed behind to keep her company. They took a spot in the back as the pastor continued. The other agents snuck curious peeks but they ignored them. “Sarah and AJ Cook and Haley and Tony Williams. We are also remembering the life of a young woman, Stacy Monroe. She had a bright future ahead of her. All of them will be greatly missed.” He went to the Bible and read a few passages and prayers. “If anyone who knew the Cooks and Williams would like to say anything, please feel free to say something.” 

Everyone just looked around so Ashley stood up. “Um, hi everyone. I’m Dr. Ashley Moore and I didn’t know them but I just thought I’d share some lyrics I came across a few days ago.” She pulled out a piece of paper. She started to read the lyrics she’d copied from the cd she was listening to, Skillet - Unleashed. “‘You spoke a word and life begin. Told oceans where to start and where to end.” Her voice broke and noticed some people around her were crying. She continued the best she could but it came out as singing. “If you can hold the stars in place You can hold my heart the same. Whenever I fall away, whenever I start to break. So here I am, lifting up my heart to the one who holds the stars...But still You love and you don’t forget my name...Your love has called my name. What do I have to fear?’” She couldn’t look up from the paper or even at Spencer. He was the only one who knew she sang and now so did the whole team. When she glanced over, she saw some people crying, others nodding and the BAU hidden looks of shock. “Thank you.” 

The ceremony continued after that with prayers of healing and for the parents and children of the deceased, prayers of strength. The funeral arrangements were announced and everyone left grieving and mourning. 

“Thank you for your help, agents, Dr. Moore. You have brought peace back to our community,” Cory shook their hands as they left. “Have a safe trip back.” They all said ‘Thank you’ and You’re welcome’ and headed to the jet.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

(Read by Dr. Ashley Moore) “Corrie Ten Boom once said, ‘Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.’”)

“So, Reid and Dr. Moore?” JJ asked as she sat next to Rossi on the plane. Her, Rossi, and Morgan all looked over at the little couch. Reid and Dr. Moore were sitting side by side, Reid’s head leaning on his hand while Ashley’s head rested peacefully on his chest. 

“They’re so cute,” Rossi said, laying a card down. He and Hotch had been talking while Rossi played solitare. “But he’ll never say anything.”

“Come on, guys,” Hotch butted in. “Leave them alone. Let them rest. She probably sang them both to sleep.” They all agreed and had a good quiet laugh as they headed home.


End file.
